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Nijinsky was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the outstanding two-year-old in Europe in 1969 when he was unbeaten in five races. In the following season, he became the first horse for thirty-five years to win the English Triple Crown, a feat that has not been repeated as of 2023. He is regarded as one of the greatest European flat racehorses of the 20th century.
Easy Goer was an American Champion Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988, and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence in the Belmont Stakes by eight lengths. Both horses were later voted into the American Hall of Fame. He is known for his excellence in New York, with running the fastest mile on dirt by any three-year-old in the history in the Gotham Stakes with a time of 1:32+2⁄5, the only horse in racing history to win the Belmont, Whitney, Travers, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup, among others.
Kinghaven Farms is a horse racing stable that was founded in 1967 by Donald G. "Bud" Willmot. Located in King City, Ontario, north of Toronto, the success of the stable would see it expand to the United States with the acquisition of a 660-acre (2.7 km2) farm and training center near Ocala, Florida. In 1974, Bud's son David S. Willmot began managing the farm's racing/breeding programs. In 2004, David Willmot announced that Kinghaven was shutting down its Thoroughbred operation, although he would continue to race a handful of horses in the following years.
Shannon (1941–1955), named Shannon II in America, was an outstanding Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He created new racecourse records in Australia before he was sold to an American buyer who exported him to California in 1948. There Shannon equalled the world record of 1:473⁄5 for the nine furlongs in winning the Forty Niner Handicap Stakes, then one week later equalled the world record of 1:594⁄5 for a mile and a quarter. Shannon was named the 1948 American Champion Older Male Horse. At stud in America he proved to be a good sire.
The Beyer Speed Figure is a system for rating the performance of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America designed in the early 1970s by Andrew Beyer, the syndicated horse racing columnist for The Washington Post. First published in book form in 1975, the Daily Racing Form began incorporating Beyer Speed Figures in a horse's past performances in 1992 and the system now assigns a Beyer number for each horse race. On the Beyer scale, the top stakes horses in the United States and Canada typically earn numbers in the 100s, while extremely strong performances can rate in the 120s. In Europe, Timeform has a similar rating scale that yields a number, but with a different value. The popular rule of thumb for a rough equivalent of the Timeform score is to deduct 12-14 points to achieve the Beyer figure. For American Quarter Horse racing, the Speed index rating system is used.
Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted both the Sovereign and Eclipse Awards for Champion 2-Year-Old in Canada and the United States respectively. He also received Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year. Although his three-year-old campaign was restricted by injury, Deputy Minister rebounded at age four with several major wins.
Bertrando was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. A tall colt that grew to 16 hands 2 inches, Bertrando was bred by Ed Nahem at River Edge Farm in Buellton, California. He was sired by Skywalker, that won the 1986 Breeders' Cup Classic.
John J. Tammaro Jr. was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Alydeed is a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Anderson Farms of St. Thomas, Ontario, he was out of the unraced mare Bialy, a daughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Alydar. A grandson of British Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, he was sired by Shadeed, the 1985 British Champion Miler and winner of the British Classic, the 2,000 Guineas.
Talkin Man is a Thoroughbred racehorse who was the Canadian Champion 2-year-old colt of 1994 after winning the Coronation Futurity and Grey Stakes. At age three, he won the Gotham Stakes and Wood Memorial before finishing twelfth as one of the favorites in the 1995 Kentucky Derby. His last start was a sixth-place finish in the Preakness Stakes. Retired to stud, his most successful offspring was Breeders' Cup Turf winner Better Talk Now.
Play the King (1983–1989) was a Canadian Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Kinghaven Farms of King City, Ontario, he was sired by King of Spain, a descendant of the very important sire Nearco. His dam was Whisper whose sire Laugh Aloud was a son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Tom Fool.
The Play the King Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. A Grade II sprint race, it is open to horses age three and older and is run over a distance of seven furlongs on turf. It currently offers a purse of CAN$200,000.
The Shady Well Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 2000 at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Held in mid July, the ungraded stakes race is open to two-year-old fillies foaled in the Province of Ontario. A sprint race, it is contested over a distance of 5+1⁄2 furlongs on Polytrack synthetic dirt, it currently offers a purse of $118,500. It was raced in two divisions in 1958 and 1968.
The Bunty Lawless Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. An Ontario Sire Stakes, it is a race for horses age three and older. Run near the end of October, it is contested over a distance of 1 mile on turf and currently carries a purse of $96,563.
Steady Growth was a Canadian Thoroughbred Champion racehorse.
Groovy (1983–2006) was an American Thoroughbred Champion sprint racehorse known for his love of jelly donuts. He is the only horse to break the 130 Beyer Speed Figure, accomplishing that milestone in his first two starts of 1987. In the Roseben Handicap at Belmont Racetrack, he earned a 131 rating, which he followed up with a 134 in the True North Handicap.
War Front is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2006 he won the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap and finished second in the Forego Handicap and Vosburgh Stakes. Since retiring from racing he has become one of the most expensive sires in the world. His offspring include Declaration of War, The Factor, Roly Poly, U S Navy Flag, Omaha Beach, Siege of Orleans and War of Will.
Ask was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Unraced as a two-year-old, he showed some promise as a three-year-old in 2006, winning one minor race and finishing fourth in the St Leger. He improved in the following year despite running only three races: he won the Ormonde Stakes and the Cumberland Lodge Stakes and was narrowly beaten in the Canadian International Stakes. He won the Gordon Richards Stakes in 2008 but reached his peak as a six-year-old in the following year, winning the Yorkshire Cup, Coronation Cup and Prix Royal Oak as well as finishing third in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. After a single, unsuccessful start in 2010 his racing career was ended by injury. He was then retired to become a National Hunt stallion in Ireland.
Helvic Dream is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He won two minor races as a two-year-old in 2019 and made steady progress in the following year, taking the Group 3 International Stakes. In the spring of 2021 he made further improvement, finishing second in the Mooresbridge Stakes before winning the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Sonnyboyliston is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He made no impact as a two-year-old and was gelded before returning in 2020 to win three handicap races. He improved to become a top-class stayer as a four-year-old in 2021, winning the Martin Molony Stakes, Ebor Handicap and Irish St Leger.